Arrington makes it official, announces run for Texas Senate seat

Arrington so far faces Rep. Charles Perry, Wolfforth's Epifanio Garza

AUSTIN — A week ago, former Texas Tech official Jodey Arrington declared his intention to run in the expected special election for Texas Senate District 28, which new Tech Chancellor Robert Duncan represented for 18 years.

On Wednesday, Arrington made it official.

“After much prayer, and with strong support from my wife, friends and hardworking families across the district, I’m humbled and excited to announce my candidacy for Texas Senate, and I’m encouraged by the early support we’ve received,” Arrington said in a statement.

“I have the utmost respect for Sen. Duncan and feel it’s important that the people of District 28 continue to be represented by someone who shares their West Texas roots, conservative values and willingness to tackle the tough issues and deliver results for every county in this district,” he added.

Arrington, who worked for former Gov. George W. Bush and then followed him to the White House, most recently served as Tech vice chancellor. He is the third hopeful to officially announce his candidacy.

Lubbock state Rep. Charles Perry was the first to announce his run for office, followed by Wolfforth resident Epifanio “Eppie” Garza. Garza challenged Duncan in the 2012 Republican primary but did not actively campaign or raise money for a competitive race.

Lubbock banker and Tech Board of Regents member John Steinmetz and former Lubbock City Councilman Todd Klein have also expressed an interest in running but have not made their respective announcements or publicly ruled out a run.

Perry, Garza and Arrington are Republicans, but since this is a special election for the remaining two years of Duncan’s four-year term, it is a non-partisan race.

In addition, though Duncan never faced a Democratic challenger each time he sought re-election, Texas Democratic Party Executive Director Will Hailer said last week the party intends to recruit a strong candidate for the open seat.

Gov. Rick Perry has yet to call a special election in SD 28 but he is expected to pick Nov. 4 — the same day as the general election — so the 51 counties in the district don’t have to spend extra money on a separate election.